Cigarette holder



y 12, 1966 A. P. MILLER 3,260,266

CIGARETTE HOLDER Filed Nov. 24, 1961 FIG. 2.

FIG.4A. FIG. 4.

INVENTOR.

ANTHONY P. MILLER BY 1W 1/ ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,260,266 CIGARETTE HOLDER Anthony P. Miller, Pleasantville, NJ. Achilles Corp., 3333 Arctic Ave., Atlantic City, NJ.)

. Filed NOV. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 154,533

1 Claim. (Cl. 131-187) I The invention relates to holders for cigarettes or cigars, and more particularly to a holder having features which reduce some of the dangers to health that (are involved in smoking.

Many authorities apparently now agree that some cases of lung, throat and skin disorder can be attributed to the presence of undesirable agents in the smoke. This realization has resulted in the widespread adoption of measures to reduce the harmful effects of smoking, the primary example having been the development of improved filters. As disclosed in my Patent No. 2,832,354, dated April 29, 1958, however, a further expedient to the same beneficial end is the provision of openings in the cigarette wrapper, through which openings air is drawn into the smoke stream. Through chemical analysis it has been found that when air is so introduced into the smoke stream the amount of tars and other harmful products present in smoke samples are markedly reduced, the reasons for this apparently being connected with the reduction of temperature in the burning zone.

The provision of openings in cigarette wrappers has been accomplished in a number of ways. In my aforementioned patent there is shown one form of pocketsize device which may be used for perforating the cigarette wrapper; My Patent No. 2,924,223, dated February 9, 1960,-i=s directed to apparatus for producing small openings in the paper from which cigarettes are made. These openings may be microscopic in size due to inherent porosity of the paper or to their creation by the well-known electrostatic process, for example. These expedients all have various disadvantages. The provision of openings in wrapper paper in the course of manufacture requires special machinery, and highly porous paper is generally unsatisfactory as wrapper material. Despite the benefits derived from the presence of vents in a wrapper, the smoker may consider it a nuisance to carry and use a perforating device of the type previously mentioned.

It is an object of the invention to effect the introduction of air into the smoke stream of a cigarette or cigar, for the beneficial purposes discussed above, in a manner which has many advantages over the prior art.

Briefly, in accordance with the invention the openings for admitting air into the smoke stream are not provided in the cigarette itself but in a particular form of holder therefor. One end of this holder is in the form of a bit adapted to be held in the smokers mouth and the other end is adapted 'to receive the cigarette. The holder thereby defines a chamber adjacent the end of the cigarette, and passages defined in the cylindrical wall of the holder provide for the flow of outside air into the chamber.

Further operational aspects, objects and advantages willbecome apparent from the following description, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one form of a cigarette holder according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an axial section of the cigarette holder shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an axial section of a modified form of cigarette holder according to the invention;

FIGURE 3-A is a cross-section taken as indicated by lines 3A 3A in FIGURE 3;-

FIGURE 4 is an axial section of a further modified form of cigarette holder according to the invention; and

FIGURE 4-A is a cross-section taken as indicated by lines 4A-4A in FIGURE 4.

3,260,266 Patented July 12, 1966 The cigarette holder A shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 comprises an elongate member 2 having a bore 4 extending lengthwise therethrough. The end 6 of member 2 constitutes the bit adapted to be held in the smokers mouth, and at the other end of the member the bore terminates in a cylindrical portion 8 adapted to receive in closely fitting relationship a cigarette C. Although it will be clear that the present invention is applicable to miniature or full-size cigars as well as cigarettes, in the case of a holder A intended for use with cigarettes the diameter of bore portion 8 typically will be of the order of ,3 5; of an inch. Depending upon the type of cigarette or cigar to be smoked, however, this diameter may be within the range of inch to more than /2 inch. An abutment 10 limiting the extent of insertion of cigarette C into the holder is defined by virtue of the fact that the portion of bore 4 which is inwardly beyond bore portion 8 has a slightly reduced transverse dimension. The abutment 10 may be located preferably from A to /2 inch from the left end of the holder as viewed in FIGURE 2. Air passages leading to the portion of bore 4 between the bore position 8 and the end of the member constituting bit 6 are defined by openings 12 in the member. Because of the limitation imposed by abutment 10 on the extent of insertion of the cigarette C, the unobstructed flow of air through openings 12 is assured. Also, it may be noted that in the region of the openings 12 a chamber is defined by virtue of the relatively large diameter of bore 4.

In the use of the holder A, as the smoker applies suction to the bit end 6 thereof high velocity air jets are drawn through the openings 12 as indicated by the arrows therefrom in FIGURE 2. In the form of holder A shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 a total of four openings 12 is provided. If the total cross-sectional area of the air passages defined by openings 12 is too great, one will experience difiiculty in drawing sufiicient smoke to enjoy the normal sensation of smoking. This total area, however, should be sufiiciently large to permit the minimum quantity of air flow desired to obtain the desired beneficial effects. It has been found that the total crosssectional area of the passages preferably is of the order of approximately .0020 square inch, although satisfactory results may be obtained within the broader range of from .0010 to .0025 square inch. This area, of course, is a function of both the number, dimensions, and configurations of the air passages. Thus, in the illustrated case, if each of the four openings 12 is approximately .025 inch in diameter, the preferred crosssectional area of approximately .0020 square inch will result. It should be understood, however, that the number and dimension of openings may be varied to obtain the same desired effect. For example, eight openings each having a diameter of .018 inch also will provide a total cross-sectional area of approximately .0020 square inch. The optimum arrangement of openings 12 is a function of the type of cigarette, i.e., whether filter tip or regular, and of factors such as the length of the cigarette and the tightness of the packed tobacco. In the case of a typical filter tip cigarette, for example, the provision of eight openings each having a diameter of .016 inch may be preferred, whereas for a non-filter cigarette of regular length an increase of diameter to .020 inch may be preferred. These matters also depend partially, of course, upon personal preferences.

The principles underlying advantages of the invention may now be considered. When the holder A is used in the smoking of a cigarette, the suction applied at the bit end of the holder induces the flow of jets of air, at very high velocity, through openings 12. The relatively cool air so introduced mixes turbulently with smoke drawn through the cigarette. It has been determined, as will be evident from a typical example given hereafter, that the quantity of tars and/or otherwise undesirable constituents in the smoke that would pass to the smokers mouth can be reduced up to approximately 60% by using a holder according to my invention. Various reasons may be responsible for such results but foremost seems to be that certain undesirable products are not produced initially in the burning zone of the cigarette, possibly due to the burning of tobacco at a temperature lower than normal. The more harmful tars are mainly those which are released at higher temperatures, and lowering the burning temperatures not only reduces the overall quantity of tars in the smoke but also limits these tars to the less harmful types. Rapid, high temperature burning can be caused by strong and erratic puffing on the cigarette, but is diminished by the smoothing out effect of permitting outside air to be drawn through openings 12. As to the less harmful tars which are, nevertheless, produced and present in the smoke stream, it is believed that turbulent mixing with the high velocity jets of air brings about a chemical change in composition and otherwise lessens the physically harmful nature thereof. Also, cooling of the smoke caused by influx of air and contact with the relatively cool wall of the member condenses a portion of these objectionable products in the holder so that they do not reach the smokers mouth. Various expedients for the specific purpose of trapping and/or condensing volatile products are disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 181,948, filed March 23, 1962, as Well as Serial No. 382,455, filed July 14, 1964.

To provide an example of the eflfectiveness of the invention, standard tests were conducted with a holder having the structure shown in FIGURE 1 with the exception that eight rather than four openings 12 were provided. Each opening had a diameter of .018 inch. Cigarettes were smoked with and without the use of the above-described holder according to the invention. It was found that by using this holder the amount of tars collected from the cigarette smoke was reduced approximately 60% as compared to cigarettes smoked without the holder.

It has been stated that an object of the invention is the simplicity and economy of manufacture of the cigarette holder. The holder may comprise one of the many synthetic resins, such as polystyrene, commercially available for use in the already known types of ordinary plastic cigarette holders. Holders A can be mass produced on commercial injection molding machinery, whereby the cost of each holder may be a fraction of a cent. In order to secure proper dimensioning of the openings 12, however, it is desirable to produce them through the use of a very fine jewelers type drill.

Certain possible variations of the holder A are embodied in the holder B shown in FIGURE 3. Instead of the provision of the abutment to limit the extent of insertion of the cigarette C, the bore 8' is tapered inwardly asillustrated in the axial section of FIGURE 3. In the case of a typical cigarette, the portion 8' will be tapered from more than of an inch to less than of an inch. A further variation evident in FIGURE 3 is that the bit 6' is flattened to a form similar to that of the usual pipe or cigar holder bit. A final distinguishing feature is the provision of grooves 13 extending lengthwise in the outer periphery of the holder, these grooves 13 being merged with the openings 12'. It will be evident that a smoker may unintentionally block off the flow of air through openings 12' with his fingers. However, due to the presence of grooves 13, the placing of the fingers over openings 12' will not cut off the flow of air because air will be bypassed around the fingers by way of grooves 13 and drawn through openings 12', An alternate type of groove having the same function as grooves 13 may extend circumferentially along the line of openings 12 rather than lengthwise of the holder as illustrated. Despite these differences, however, the cigarette holder B shown in FIGURE 3 is characterized by the same basic principles of operation, including the number and dimensions of the openings 12, as explained in connection with the holder shown in FIGURES 1 and 2.

In the previously described forms of cigarette holder the air is admitted through openings 12 or 12' which extend radially through the holder body. As mentioned, such openings preferably are formed with a jewelers type drill in order to insure uniform and accurate dimensioning of the opening. It is possible, however, to form the air passages satisfactorily in connection with plastic molding to form the holder. Thus there is shown in FIGURES 4 and 4-A a holder C which is identical with holder A (FIGURES 1 and 2) in every respect except the formation of air passages. As evident in FIGURE 4, openings such as 12-and 12 are not provided, but in lieu thereof, grooves 14 are molded in the bore 8" which is adapted for reception of a cigarette. The cigarette may be inserted in the holder only to the extent of abutment 10", which is interrupted by indented passages 16 to communicate the passages defined by grooves 14 with the chamber or bore 4". Thus air may bypass the end of the cigarette through grooves 14 and the indented passages 16 and thereby enter the interior of holder C. As in the case of holder A, the total cross-sectional area of the air passages thereby define-d preferably is within the range of .0010 to .0025 square inch. In other respects also the basic principles of operation of holders A and C (and also B) are the same.

It will be understood that various departures from the specifically described forms of the invention may be made without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the following claim.

What is claimed is:

A cigarette holder comprising a one-piece elongate member having a smoke passage extending lengthwise therethrough, one end of said member being a bit adapted to be held in the smokers mouth, the portion of said passage at the extreme other end of the member being generally cylindrical in form to receive and securely hold the end of a cigarette, and means imposing a limit to insertion of a cigarette in said cylindrical bore portion, and said member having therein a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings providing communication between the outside of said member and a portion of said smoke passage inwardly beyond said limit of cigarette insertion for the purpose of admitting air, each 'of said openings being formed by a longitudinally extending groove :in the external Wall of said member and a hole communicating with said groove and extending radially through said member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 882,825 3/ 1908 Heald. 2,693,193 11/1954 Pelletier 131198 X 2,944,554 7/1960 Marguleas 131-198 FOREIGN PATENTS 360,268 2/1906 France. 445,522 9/ 1912 France. 1,027,901 2/1953 France.

SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH S. REICH, ABRAHAM G. STONE,

Examiners.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No 3,620 266 Dated November 16, 1971 lnventofl Francis AEJ Ryder It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 14, after "flattened" cancel "51 serves to lock aerosol can 61".

Signed and sealed this 6th day of June 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M. FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents USCOMM-DC BOBTB-PGQ DRM PC4050 (10-69) r: us covznmazm rnmrmc. own: 190 o-scc-su 

